Not what I was referring to.
Bond is open……
Wonder Man has been cast: what hadn’t happened, as of late October, was the actual agreement on terms/signing of the contract.
Definitely feel bad for Cavill since he seemed passionate about the role and quit another one close to his heart for it. And it would have been nice to see him get a chance to portrait the character freed from its Snyderverse context.
Can see why Safran and Gunn want a clean slate and purge the remnants of the Snyderverse though.
So I think there are four DC films currently in various late stages of production. Shazam 2, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman 2. I’ll be surprised if any of them are cancelled at this point (though slightly less surprised if Blue Beetle gets the Batgirl treatment), but all indications are that’s where anything in continuity with the Snyderverse ends.
Cavill is out as Superman. There is no meaningful Snyderverse Batman left to follow up with. With neither of those leads returning and Jenkins gone as the WW director it sure seems like there’s no great reason to keep only Gadot from the original three and try to maintain any continuity. So I bet she’s gone too. I don’t think there’s the time, money, or interest to turn the Flash movie from a continuity reset that still incorporates elements of the Snyderverse to a total clean slate that sets up Gunn and Safran’s new direction for the studio.
Then we’ve got the Joker and the The Batman films. Both were already siloed off from the Snyderverse. The Joker sequel is underway, The Batman always has between one and three HBO Max spin-offs in a state of quantum production. I really liked The Batman, and want to see more of that version. But I’m worried we won’t, because it doesn’t make sense to me to keep that around if there’s a plan to build a new connected series of films. Unless The Batman is the foundation of that new continuity, but Gunn fairly directly refuted a report claiming exactly that.
Am I missing anything? My gut says everything in production makes it to the screen, but nothing else connects to anything that’s come before. No more Snyderverse, no The Batman 2, that’s the end.
Selfishly speaking, I am hoping Gadot doesn’t return. I don’t think she’s a good actress and really brings nothing to the table.
Selfishly speaking, the idea that I’ll never have to “refresh” myself on the Snyderverse movies again in order to potentially watch a better movie later fills me with a lot of joy this afternoon. Yay!
I THOUGHT I read a statement from Gunn that he intended to continue with the Robert Pattinson Batman, but I could be mistaken.
I mean, it’s only been speculation that he quit The Witcher FOR Superman. The timing of it all certainly points to it, but he had had some concern about the direction it was going, too. So it’s entirely possible that it was creative differences and he would’ve quit anyway.
I like the dude though and I want him to get lots of work, so it is a shame that both of those roles died so close together.
Let him play Gaunt you cowards!
And Bond.
And Gordon Freeman in the Halflife 3 movie
I hope so!
The way I look at it, it’s easy to imagine a similar situation to what DC had going on now: connected films (the Snyderverse), and then isolated projects (The Batman, Joker). So in theory I don’t see a problem with The Batman specifically continuing, and we’re just replacing the Snyderverse with the Gunniverse. But in practice, it sure seems risky if your unconnected Batman project is moving on to a sequel and potentially television tie-ins at the same time you’re trying to build a different connected world of media from scratch that will no doubt also have a Batman of its own.
Cavill also shot a cameo in The Flash , one of four DC movies set to release in 2023, but sources say that cameo, along with that of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, is now being cut given that the studio chose to not go forward with director Patty Jenkins’ version of Wonder Woman 3.
Dwayne Johnson pushed for his return via the much-hyped cameo in Black Adam and a potential linchpin for Johnson’s own DC universe franchise. But Black Adam has grossed $389 million worldwide, its soft performance calling into question Johnson’s much-touted plans for a sequel and an eventual Adam vs. Superman movie even before Gunn’s decision. The studio had its own plan as new film co-chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy wanted to make a Man of Steel sequel, having Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight to write the treatment. (Classic character Brainiac was to have been the villain of that piece, a source says.)
“In the end, he was a pawn in Dwayne’s failed attempt to control a piece of DC,” one insider observers.
Cavill, sources say, did not have a deal in place to return as Superman, only a verbal agreement that the studio would develop future projects. He was paid $250,000 each for his cameos.
Johnson would have made a pretty good Amazo. It would have been casting against type which I think he needs to try, Bautista as Drax is consistently one of my favorite things about Marvel. Johnson has the body to be a “perfect specimen” android but playing an emotionally confused but outwardly-dead character would give him a chance to show some chops.
The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker are both Gunn projects. Seems likely he’d build from those. Could keep Black Adam (which, like TSS and Peacemaker features an Amanda Waller team) and Shazam since it and Black Adam are part of DC’s Marvel Family. Curious where Doom Patrol fits into that too.
The Rock was a better wrestler, but Bautista is the better actor.
At least from what we have seen so far.
Shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that has followed James Gunn. The guy definitely bonds with his actors and will use the ones he really gets along with forever.
Lots to chew on here. A Superman movie, A Batman and Robin movie, a Booster Gold TV show, and more and more and more.
With Gunn focused on “Superman: Legacy” for the foreseeable future, Season 2 of “Peacemaker” has been put on hold.
Sonofabitch!
Other observations- does it seem to anyone else like everything aside from Supes is… pretty dark? Lots of ends-justify-the-means, horror, civil war in paradise, etc.
Bringing The Authority into the main continuity? Meh. But if it can someday lead to a Planetary TV show… a man can dream.